Is a symbol by any other name still a symbol?

"What the cave symbolizes will be determined to a larg extent by how the individual reader engages the text." (Foster 103)

This is such an interesting statement. I think in every English class I have ever read we, the class, has always been asked about the symbolizim in the text. In every single one of those classes we were supposed to know that one thing was supposed to mean a specific thing. It always ment that one thing, there were never any ifs ands or buts. Now Foster is saying that every single one of us is going to see symbolizim different in the book we are currently reading. So which one is it? Is everyone supposed to see the same thing, or are we supposed to see different things? Later Foster even says, "the great work allows for a considerable range of possible interpretations." (Foster 105). Obviously we, as readers are supposed to see the text differently. Just recently, in my literary criticism class, we learned that we don't always know the author's intent, so we can't say for sure if something really ment a specific thing.

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